9 Things we noticed from Leicester City 3-1 Fulham

Some thoughts and assessments following Leicester City’s 3-1 victory over Fulham, in new boss Brendan Rodgers’ first match in charge at the King Power Stadium.

For once Foxes of Leicester’s scoreline prediction came to fruition – phew – following Brendan Rodgers’ initial home game win at the King Power Stadium. Plucky Fulham were beaten 3-1 by Leicester City.

Thanks for the win went mainly to the prolific again Jamie Vardy, who bagged a brace. Along with a first finish from Youri Tielemans, setup by the striker. Although Harvey Barnes and James Maddison were also instrumental in the victory.

Vardy now has four goals in three successive matches and is on fire, so to speak. Expect him to probably score next week versus Burnley too, continuing this impressive run of rejuvenation. However, clinical finishing was in short supply first-half.

One other aspect of the win FoL noticed was that when the crowd went flat the team seemed to notice, losing a committed edge and confidence – in turn this affected quality on the ball. Obviously the Blue Army was stunned when Fulham came out fighting and got into the heads – as well as Leicester’s half – after the interval.

Evidently the equaliser stunned the already cruising Foxes who should have put the game out of the Cottagers’ reach first-half. Most noteworthy is the heads dropping, conceding necessitates on pitch leaders. Vardy stepped up.

One other impressive area was central midfield. Wilfred Ndidi is best utilised as a clean up man, he is excellent at this and his stats show it Vs Fulham; per WhoScored. Just don’t let him shoot!

James Maddison and Youri Tielemans are excelling in there new partnership as attacking midfielders. This duo is reminiscent of Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard for England in the great World Cup experience of 2018 in Russia. Tielemans can also give support to Ndidi if he is overrun by an adept opposition three-man-midfield.

If Leicester can permanently sign the Belgian this summer, it will be a phenomenal capture. Consequently signifying the intent of the ambitious Leicester City, adding a brilliant player to the roster and attracting more in the process. Fingers crossed please, everyone!

While a product of the Leicester City academy has rightly taken his place in the East Midlands side. Harvey Barnes is another who links up play with Maddison, and Vardy in particular, very well indeed. Whilst the Young Lion is still raw, he is at a perfect club with more than capable tutelage to see him fulfil potential as a senior England international.

More from Foxes of Leicester

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• Harry Winks reveals his easy decision to join Leicester
• Southampton 1-4 Leicester City: 3 Foxes positives and negatives
• Southampton 1-4 Leicester: 3 things learned
• Predicted Leicester City starting XI vs Southampton

Time for some weird irony now – thankfully since the Ben Chilwell-to-Manchester-City rumours reappeared over the last two weeks, he’s not been quite up to his usual high standard of performance. Let us explain: it’s a good thing because hopefully the Citizens will change their collective minds about purchasing the left-back and he’ll remain a Fox next season.

Obviously we all want our club to win at every opportunity and each player to perform exceptionally well; but honestly, there’s not a lot for Leicester to play for now. 7th is doable, but a stretch. Although gaining European qualification is an element which will keep Chilwell on Filbert Way. He also said recently that Rodgers’ appointment may keep the 22-year-old at the club longer, due to ambition improvements.

Rodgers had instant positive impact at the King Power. It was clear the players were immediately lifted, with the training ground and dressing room said to be ‘bouncing’. Speculatively, we now expect a higher chance of Tielemans signing a permanent deal; as well as exceptional talent prospectively being brought in at Leicester because of the new gaffer’s pulling power.

An area that may be monitored with regards to a potential upgrade or alteration is the goalkeeper position. Kasper Schmeichel’s form has been questionable for around a calendar year now. His distribution has actually allowed opponents to score on more than one occasion, not just Watford. And caused a loss of points.

Schmeichel’s legendary goalkeeping father, Peter, added fuel to the fire of departure rumours by stating that his son may leave, as all players want to better themselves. Yet this seemed to be related to Claude Puel, and he himself has of course since left.

In addition, the Dane was better versus Fulham; so if this writer had to bet on it, the club legend will remain for 2019/20. Let us not forget his horrific ordeal at the crash site of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s helicopter – these instances definitely affect performance and stability.

Ricardo Pereira’s defending is again under the microscope, despite his prowess in forward moves. He was lauded for his display once again, although on further inspection, statistically, it wasn’t his best appearance.

Too many times in the second-half the Lilywhites’ left-back and left-winger made advanced strides forward, found space and had joy in the Portuguese’s vicinity. He made a few solid interceptions in the contest, but tellingly, had no successful tackles whatsoever.

Post match Rodgers commended Vardy’s standing, class and character. Afterwards the Northern Irishman thanked the fans for the upbeat atmosphere – in spite of a severe lull following the equaliser – promising many more wins to cheer in future.

Burnley entertain the Foxes on Saturday in the next round of division clashes. Sean Dyche’s Clarets are a tight unit – or were – and will be up for the three points in their quest for top-flight survival. They’ll have to stop Vardy and his goalscoring run to win the match. Seven places separate 10th position Leicester City from the Lancashire team in the Premier League.